Things Cast Down are Being Raised Up

     I want to write a short post on this subject, because it has been rounding Episcopal social media as well as that of other denominations.  Within the last couple of weeks, the U.S. Conference of (Roman) Catholic Bishops had been working on a policy that would allow for the withholding of communion for politicians, particularly those who publicly support abortion.  They then backed off their position a few days ago.  I have many thoughts on this subject, but I also think it best to stay in my lane and not comment on the inner workings of another denomination.  My only comment on this is that I do find using the sacrament as a political bargaining chip to be hugely problematic.  I also understand that in the last couple of decades, opinions about this subject have shifted and it has become a polarizing issue.       The issue that I feel compelled to write on has been the reaction, particularly from Episcopalians, who have a much different policy on the sacrament.  For Episcopalians,

The last year and a half has been a time that has shaken nearly all of society.  The global pandemic not only has led to four millions of deaths and as many reported illnesses as the population of  the United States, it has had ripple effects on every aspect of our lives.  Isolation led to mental health crises; changes in the way we consume products led to strains on supply chains; and many countries experienced political upheavals.   The Church was by no means immune to these ripple effects.  In fact, as many congregations are just now resuming worship, I doubt that the full effects on the Church will be seen for many years.  The immediate effects of this are lower attendance, lower pledging, as well as clergy burnout and turnover.  In many ways, the effects of the pandemic simply exacerbated trends that have been happening for years.   Perhaps one of the three biggest comments I have heard that people missed during the pandemic were that they missed the worship space, they missed the

I am a life-long Episcopalian and have always been involved with church at some level.  I just celebrated the fourteenth anniversary of my ordination to the diaconate.  (Episcopalians ordain priests after a time of being an ordained deacon.  It's called a "transitional diaconate".)  In my fourteen years of ordained ministry, I have served three congregations and in other roles, I have worked with numerous congregations.   One notion I have heard over and over from churches is that they're a "family".  It is almost always the first thing I hear when I ask a congregation what their identity is or what makes them who they are.  This is something I have heard across denominations and is particularly true of small congregations.  I believe the sentiment is in the right place.  The idea behind this is that people feel like in their churches, they love and support one another and that the church can be a place where they are able to feel safe and vulnerable.  That

After about a two-year hiatus, I'm going to start this blog up again.  In the past, I tried to write on a "stump the priest" model, where I would answer questions.  I am still happy to do this, but I found that not too many people really had burning questions for me to answer.   Because I have been working on my doctorate in ministry and have taken courses in interim ministry, my thinking is starting to shift more toward congregational and church dynamics.  Over the last couple years, I have had a number of issues of congregational dynamics on my heart that I would like to write about.  I hope you enjoy!